Great Beyond
by Constantinus
Summary: Maybe Heather was right. Or maybe it was a figment of somebody's over-active imagination that there would ever be something more than friendship between them. Set shortly after Race to the Edge. One-shot.


Great Beyond:

Hiccup worked methodically, shifting the lenses and depressing gems in a carefully memorized sequence, trusting Toothless to adjust his fire accordingly. From time to time, he paused to jot something important down in his notebook, turning pages to reference previous entries. He frowned in concentration, eyebrows drawing together endearingly like they always did. There was a smudge of charcoal on his nose. It always made Astrid chuckle, even while wanting to roll her eyes in bemused confusion; his mannerisms and facial expressions, subconsciously playing across his face as he worked, reminded her so much of him as a twiggy little kid, trying to sneakily grab her hand in the shrubbery or be paired with her when they played Hide-and-Hunt. Those days were long gone, but he still made that face of intense concentration, of putting all his effort into a single, all-consuming task. She liked that face. She liked all of his faces, even the smug one.

Maybe Heather was right, she reflected. Or maybe it was just a figment of somebody's over-active imagination that there could ever be anything other than friendship between them.

With a cry of triumph, Hiccup straightened suddenly. "Finally! I think we've got it, Toothless."

"What did Toothless do this time?" Astrid asked idly, watching him pat the dragon happily.

"Toothless and I," he put emphasis on both noun and pronoun, "have finally found something we've spent a lot of time looking for."

She didn't doubt it; Hiccup had spent almost as much time studying maps as he had flying lately. He tilted the still-glowing Dragon Eye upward to cast its maps on the adjacent wall. "See this?" he asked, pointing out an oddly-shaped figure on the upper left corner. "This is an island, the island that is farther to the west than we have ever been. And, according to my records," he stuck the charcoal between his teeth and paged through his notebook again, "we have no idea what's on it. Nothing from Bork, nothing in the Book of Dragons; it's completely undiscovered. Isn't this amazing?"

She smiled at him, his enthusiasm was so infectious; even Toothless chortled quietly, the flame burning in his throat flickering and making the map dance and gyrate.

"I mean, this is unprecedented. We've gotta' see this place, there could be people there, undiscovered wonders, or even new dragons." He went quiet suddenly, the unspoken thought echoing between them. There could be Night Furies there.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" she asked briskly, ever the first to action. "To the Great Beyond!"

* * *

"This is so not worth it," Snotlout stated flatly as Hookfang hovered. Astrid was almost compelled to agree with him: the island was tiny, barely more than an above-average sea stack, all rock and scrubby conifers sticking up at odd angles.

"Is there even enough room for all of us to land on that thing?" Ruffnut asked, peering over Barf's neck with a hyper-critical eye.

"Yeah, I think Meatlug might knock it over if she tried," Tuffnut added, sniggering.

Fishlegs merely patted Meatlug's neck comfortingly. "Don't worry, girl," he said. "Tuff's just jealous because you're so much more compact than his dragon."

"You've got that right, my friend," Tuffnut replied. "Compact is the word, and this island is very compact. It's so compact, in fact, that I say we compact it even more. With Meatlug."

Snotlout raised his hands in a questioning shrug. "What does that even mean?"

Tuffnut put a hand to his chin. "Hmm, I don't know; I'll have to get back to you on that. Ruffnut, what _does_ that even mean?"

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "How am I supposed to know? I stopped listening to you babble as soon as we learned to talk."

"Is that so? I always thought you never really did learn to talk, 'cause every time your mouth moves, something unintelligible comes out of it."

Provoked, Ruffnut yanked on Barf's horn, both of them careening into Belch and Tuffnut. The dragon, unable or unwilling to get its riders under control, wobbled and swerved, landing with a rustling crunch on the tiny island. Ruff and Tuff, seemingly unaware of their precipitous change in elevation, merely went on fighting. The other riders descended more slowly, Hiccup shaking his head, Astrid rolling her eyes, Fishlegs trying to take in everything at once, and Snotlout still complaining to nobody in particular.

"It's not that bad, Snotlout," Hiccup said, trying to keep his own disappointment in check.

"Not that bad? You dragged us all the way out here, promising some great new island paradise, and what do we get? This! And no wonder Bork never mentioned it, because _there is nothing worth mentioning_!" Snotlout was shouting by this time; even as he spoke, all the riders not named Ruffnut and Tuffnut cautiously edged their way between sheer drop-off and wrestling Thorston twins.

"Now wait just a minute: I never said it was an island paradise—"

"And where's the boar pit?"

"Can it, Ruffnut," Astrid cut in. "There isn't even enough room on this island for boars, let alone a boar pit."

With that, what had been at least a semi-civilized argument broke down, everyone yelling and the dragons barking or yowling in response. Hiccup and Toothless sat quietly, waiting for the others to quiet down. They waited for a long time.

"Well, it's too far to fly back tonight," Hiccup said at last, making an effort to calm everyone. "We'll sleep here tonight and go back in the morning. And the next person who complains or argues gets to climb a tree and sleep in the branches."

Snotlout shut his mouth with a snap, teeth audibly clicking together. Meatlug moaned quietly and Fishlegs gave her a reassuring hug.

"It'll be okay, girl," he murmured. "He doesn't mean us."

Even Ruff and Tuff recognized Hiccup's tone, and wisely lowered their voices to a mere rumble of sound. All six of them spread out as far apart as they could, which admittedly wasn't far at all, and set to the business of supper.

The fire crackled and popped, its sound blending with the wash of waves against the rock and the slight susurration of wind through the trees. Astrid leaned up against Stormfly, watching Hiccup through the flames. Though he kept his face neutral, he was disappointed. She could tell. Hiccup wore his heart on his sleeve, bless him, and he was so easy to read. But, she reflected, so was she, so it was a flaw they shared.

Even as she watched him, he frowned and released a pent-up breath, frustration and disappointment and exasperation leached away in a single, calming exhalation. Toothless, sensing his rider's mood, whuffed inquiringly and Hiccup reached down to scratch the dragon's chin. "Maybe next week, bud," he said quietly. "Or next month. Or next year. We'll keep trying."

Poor Toothless; he wore his heart on his sleeve too. Or maybe that was his stomach. One could never really tell with dragons.

As the sun set on the western horizon, the riders and their dragons watched in silence. It was late autumn, and after hugging the sea all day, like a parted lover desperate for a single comforting embrace, the sun sank with agonizing slowness into the slowly darkening depths, making the sky a bridal bower of pink, deep red, and royal purple, a canopy of color rich beyond all price. Where purple yielded to deepening night, stars peeped out to stare and wink at sun and sea as they joined.

Astrid wriggled closer still to Stormfly's warm side as night fell, the day's cool breeze giving way to damp stillness and evening chill. It was a shame, really, that the island was so small; it was oddly quirky, even . . . appealing, for its size. The evening air smelled of pine sap and the inescapable tang of the sea. The ground, a few inches of topsoil over rock, was still warm beneath her, and the three hundred and sixty degree view was a definite plus. Astrid smiled and slipped even lower; perhaps the flight hadn't been a waste of time after all. Lulled by the crackle of the fire, the rhythmic wash of the waves, and the muted murmurs of her companions, she drifted off, unconscious of any feeling but bemused contentment.

When she opened her eyes, it was to a new world. The fire was nothing but cold ash and the sun was completely gone, long since swallowed in the sea, though the moon had not yet risen. The sky was clear as a painter's canvas, and she gasped as she gazed upward.

The vaults of Asgard glittered, stars beyond count filling her gaze and forbidding her to look away, every single one of them giving homage to the gods. And there, directly above her head, a constellation glinted, seven stars brighter than the rest winking at her wickedly. It was the Grin of Loki, a favorable omen. Or a troublesome one. Experts tended to disagree about the nature of Loki's Grin. But it was there, right above their little island, and it was the most beautiful thing Astrid had ever seen in the sky. She smiled and wiggled upright, accidentally rousing her Nadder.

"Don't worry, Stormfly," she whispered. The dragon tucked her head back under her wing with a faintly disgusted huff.

Astrid tiptoed over to where Hiccup huddled under Toothless's protective wing, and shook him gently. He blinked as consciousness returned, and she put a finger to her lips. He frowned, those eyebrows furrowing again beautifully, but she took his hand and tugged until he stood.

"Astrid, what are you doing?" he whispered, annoyed, but Astrid only looked up, lifting her face to the glorious sky. Hiccup looked too, and his eyes widened as his mouth formed a soundless 'O'.

"I knew you'd like it," she smirked, and punched his shoulder. Caught off-balance with his neck craned upward, he dropped like a stone and she was instantly sorry. She reached out a hand to help him back up, but he grabbed it and pulled her down beside him with a surprisingly firm grip.

They lay there on the ground, side by side, gazing up at the twinkling constellation. Shyly, Hiccup reached out and brushed her fingers gently, asking for more contact. Many years before she had refused even the lightest touch. But this time, she no longer shied away. She let him take her hand in his, rubbing his calloused thumb along the smooth skin on the backs of her fingers.

"Okay, so this isn't so bad," he murmured.

"What isn't, the island or this?"

"Neither one. I could get used to this."

"Don't count on it, dragon boy. This is a once-in-a-lifetime, get-it-while-you-can opportunity; much like seeing Loki's Grin directly overhead on a night with no clouds and no moon."

"It's worth it," he replied.

Astrid glanced over at him. He had that dopey, unguarded look on his face, the one Snotlout had rather loudly nicknamed "Astrid Drool" when they were younger. She'd punched Snotlout for that, and he'd shut up about it afterward. The look still made an appearance every so often, though.

"So, who gets to name this one?" she asked brightly. "After _Itchy Armpit_ , I don't trust you anymore."

He looked offended. "That was Toothless, actually," he pointed out.

"Only with your permission," she retorted.

"We could call it Bird's Nest," he suggested, "or Dragon's Eye, or Edge of the Horizon, or — "

She cut him off with a finger on his lips. "Let's call it Great Beyond," she said.

He turned his head to look at her, and grinned half-sheepishly. "I like it."

They lay quietly then, Great Beyond solid under their backs, Loki's Grin shifting and blinking above them. And when they returned to Dragon's Edge, Hiccup added a new page to his ever-growing map, sketching an island where the night sky had revealed a vast frontier, far greater and beyond everything they knew.

Astrid leaned against the door-frame, watching him as he worked. Maybe Heather really was right, though that thought was another Great Beyond they hadn't yet reached. They might reach it someday. Maybe next week. Or next month. Or next year.

But someday.

* * *

 **A/N: This fic was inspired by a very fleeting reference in Chapter 2 of my crossover _Tintin and the Archeologist_ to the Great Beyond as an actual place. Thanks for reading!**


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